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2011 Parhelion Spring Series

Skippers, crew and club officers -- your contributions are needed, reports, GPS tracks and photos

The Parhelion yacht racing series is run by the Portsmouth Sailing Club, with races in the Eastern Solent, off Portsmouth and in Hayling bay.

One More Knot's skipper reports each race in the series, blow by blow. Some of the other crews and skippers contribute too ... just to give a balanced view!

Spring Parhelion 2011 dates are:


2011 Spring Parhelion Series - Club Fleet Standings

Official results table from the PSC

Rank Boat Name Class Sail No Helm TCF R1
26 Mar		 R2
26 Mar		 R3
2 Apr		 R4
9 Apr		 R5
9 Apr		 R6
16 Apr		 R7
16 Apr		 R8
30 Apr		 R9
30 Apr		 Total
Club Fleet - Sailed: 7    Discards: 2
1 Muscadet de Havelet Contessa 32 5500 Peter Sanderson 0.880 2 1 1 4 1 1 1 5
2 One More Knot Elan 333 7563T Phil Duff 0.973 1 2 4 1 2 2 4 8
3 Just In Time Omega 36 4230T Tony Barnett 0.965 4 3 5 2 4 3 2 14
4 Scallywag GK 24 215 Ellis Ruddick 0.845 5 4 2 3 3 6 5 17
5 Ellisa Beneteau 411 1115L Eric Whitelaw 0.970 3 5 3 6 6 DNC DNC 23
6 Easy Tiger II Beneteau First 33.7 6655 Chris Fife-Shaw 0.975 DNC DNC 6 5 5 4 4 24
7 Thunderflash Hanse 37 9422 Andrew Taylor 0.973 DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC 5 6 35

Results courtesy of Portsmouth Sailing Club

Race Results

Race Date Class Pos No in Class TCF OTW Time OTW gap to 1st/2nd Corrected gap to 1st/2nd Crew
Parhelion race 1 26/3/2011 1 5 0.973 1:05:53 -8:34 -1:30 Phil, Glenn, Andrew, Jon, Drew, Kevan
Parhelion race 2 26/3/2011 2 5 0.973 1:09:31 -3:49 +3:06 Phil, Glenn, Andrew, Jon, Drew, Kevan
Parhelion race 3 2/4/2011 4 6 0.973 1:43:02 -2:46 +7:09 Phil, Glenn, Andrew, Drew, Norman, Martin, Barry
Parhelion race 4 9/4/2011 1 6 0.973 1:00:28 -5:41 -5:00 Phil, Glenn, Jon, Drew, Norman, Andrew
Parhelion race 5 9/4/2011 2 6 0.973 1:02:12 -6:20 +0:12 Phil, Glenn, Jon, Drew, Norman, Andrew
Parhelion race 8 30/4/2011 2 6 0.973 1:40:22 -9:39 +0:50 Phil, Glenn, Andrew, Norman, Martin P, Phil B
Parhelion race 9 30/4/2011 3 6 0.973 1:00:32 -0:14 +6:26 Phil, Glenn, Andrew, Norman, Martin P, Phil B

Race Reports

Appeal to skippers, crews and race officials, spectators, etc.

Please help me out with:

Spring Races 1 and 2

Crew: Phil, Glenn, Andrew, Jon, Drew, Kevan

The crew met for the usual feast of "winning baps" in the "Crew's mess". A new series means that we all start on equal terms and everything to do again. After some TLC over the winter and a new spinnaker "Big Blue 2" we were ready for the new series. One More Knot was clean underneath and hopefully everything had been prepared for another successful campaign.

Out on the water, the wind was very light and it was quite misty. We took the opportunity to give the new spinnaker its first outing, there was just enough breeze to get BB2 to fill.

The committee boat had positioned themselves at Gilkicker, in anticipation of the predicted easterly breeze. This would allow a windward start to the usual marks over the Hamilton bank off the Haslar wall. A fleet of 13 yachts gathered, only to be postponed for 30 minutes. However, after the postponement the breeze filled and there was some good racing.

Race 1

The course for the first race was a simple triangle, a beat to Mary Rose, followed by a run against the tide to North Sturbridge (gybe mark) and then onto Darling Associates before a short beat back to the line. The course was originally set as 2 laps, however in the 4-6 knot breeze it was predicatably shortened to a single lap.

Having witnessed the 8 boat IRC class start, Jim obliged us with a surprise practice start before calling us back for another go.

Just prior to the start we tacked in very shallow water just off the beach. We were concious of the tide pushing us over the line, so another quick double tack followed before heading out to the line on port. To windward were Scallywag and then Just In Time. Elsewhere, Ellisa and Muscadet de Havelet were apparently having a ding-dong.

At the gun we hardened up and together with Scallywag and Just In Time. A second hoot told us that a boat was over, Just In Time had to go back and restart. Rumours from the clubhouse suggested that Ellisa had forced Muscadet the wrong side of the end of the line. A spicy first start!

We settled into the beat and found some form quite quickly. The breeze was light and fickle. After a sustained stronger period, all of 8 knots, the fleet were moving well only for the breeze to fall off again. Ellisa's momentum carried her up towards One More Knot and she threatened to sail over the top. However, with a bit of pinching One More Knot defended and as soon as the next gust came we were able to accelerate away. Ellisa dropped underneath.

"Big Blue 2" was hoisted. The gybe was executed well clear of North Strbridge which had the usual significant tide running. We didn't want to round the mark and then get washed back onto it.

One More Knot led round the rest of the lap and managed to overtake the tail end of the IRC fleet that had started 15 minutes before. After crossing the line we watched the clock as the rest of the fleet finished. We were rewarded with a win in the first race of the series, followed by Muscadet, Just In Time, Ellisa and Scallywag (under new ownership).

Race 2

We watched the course for IRC with some amusement, the IRC fleet was setup to round KB boat parks twice, once in each direction. Our thoughts were that it would be interesting if we were sailing the same course. It could be carnage! We watched the IRC fleet start, it was tight and Wild Blue was half a boat's width over the line.

However, our course was different, with the start at Gilkicker, a beat to Gleeds, then a run to KB boat parks, a beat to Vail Williams, a run to Naomi House and finally a fetch to BAE Systems.

Once again, we started on port. Not the greatest, but not a disaster either. Muscadet, starting on starboard with Ellisa just to windward returned the favour and pushed Ellisa out of the line. Muscadet then sailed the fleet over on starboard towards the beach. On One More Knot, we wanted to be out in the deeper water for the east going tide. Both Scallywag and then OMK had to duck Muscadet shortly after the start. Surprisingly Scallwag then tacked over our bow to follow Muscadet back in to the shallower water.

We continued, with Phil slightly un-nerved at all these boats going for the shoreline. A bit of concentration was lost but eventually we got back on song, having accidently beam reached rather than beat for 30s. Muscadet had tacked and came back out, crossing 200m behind our track.

The wind had swung by about 30 or 40 degrees to the south, favouring the offshore boats. So Muscadet and One More Knot had the biggest advantage, while the others lost out considerably.

One More Knot managed to lead the fleet around the course. We made the spinnaker drop unecessarily complicated at KB Boat Parks by dropping the kite, rounding the mark and then tacking immediately. Good practice, but Phil was rewarded with a whack on the head from a spinnaker cringle.

Behind, Muscadet appeared to be mixing it with Just In Time. They must have had an exciting day. Meanwhile, on OMK we needed to avoid "Hot Liquid", not racing with us. We adjusted our course and called for them to hold their course as the stand-on vessel. They didn't and life got complicated. It turned out that they were a "sailing school" and they had just undertaken a practical of what not to do! We sailed into the penultimate mark by the lee. In hind site, we should have put in a couple of gybes. At Naomi House, we executed a clean drop, got every one on the rail for the final fetch to the finish at BAE systems.

At the line, we did the sums as we watched the rest of the fleet cross the line. Our verdict was that we were not far enough in front of Muscadet. The result confirmed our 2nd place behind Muscadet. Following in were Just In Time, Scallwag and finally Ellisa who had lost out big time due to a spinnaker wrap.

Spring Race 3 : Roy Pearce Memorial Race

Crew: Phil, Glenn, Andrew, Drew, Norman, Martin and Barry

Sadly, Roy Pearce, a good friend and fellow competitor had passed away just before Christmas, 2010. Roy's yacht Symphony sat more or less opposite One More Knot on the pontoon in the marina. Roy and I had enjoyed much banter over the years, often resulting in the consumption of too much whisky (mine) or brandy (his). Roy had been racing yachts for many years and when I turned up in my racing "short trousers" with One More Knot I soon realised I had a lot to learn from the grown ups, like Roy. It took a good few years before we could regularly finish ahead of Rhapsody, Roy's former yacht, an MGC27, and I mean on the water ... not handicap. I am certain that I learned far far more from Roy than he ever learned from me. Later, Roy was sufficiently impressed with One More Knot's performance that when considering his a new yacht, an Elan was on the shortlist. His new yacht, Symphony, an Elan 340 flew downwind. He and his crew gave One More Knot and their crew a torrid time and we enjoyed many ding-dong battles on the water.

Roy had been competing with the Portsmouth Sailing club for a long time and his untimely death left a hole. The club has responded in a magnificent manner, feeling the loss, by coming up with a special race, the "Roy Pearce Memorial". This was the inaugural running of the race, in which we will remember Roy as yachtsman, racer and good friend.

One More Knot's crew
One More Knot's crew, left to right Drew, Glenn, Norman, Phil, Andrew, Martin and Barry behind the camera

At breakfast, we meet with the crew and talk tactics. Jon has phoned in sick. We were honoured by having 3 of Roy's Symphony crew (Norman, Martin and Barry) with us for this important race. A further member, Richard, was on the committee boat. Roy's brother Keith was due to present trophies in the Royal Victoria yacht club at the end of the race. This was one we really wanted to win.

Race 3

A good F4, occasionally F5 was blowing. The course was set for a passage race that wiggled up and down the Solent. We were to start at Gleeds, with a beat to North Sturbridge, a run to KB boatparks, a beat to Bob Kemp, a run to Darling Associates then off to Peelbank before a finish at Craft Insure.

The IRC start marked our 10 minute warning.

Start of IRC race
IRC fleet start the Roy Pearce Memorial race

Prestart we reached off towards the Haslar wall at 5 or 6 knots. We tacked with 6 minutes to go and ..... the wind dropped. We were struggling to do 3 knots. A quick look at the GPS said 4 and a half minutes to the line. We had 4 and a half minutes. We were already racing from the back of the fleet!

The wind continued to drop and we slowed down. At the gun, 09:55, the fleet was more or less stationary, One More Knot was still showing 1 knot on the GPS, but 160m from the line. The rest of the fleet were closer to the line. Ellisa was at the port end, on port, but with no other yachts nearby the only problem she had was keeping going.

Ellisa made very slow progress across the line. Would she clear the committee boat? The rest of the fleet were pointing in all directions, with barely any steerage way.

One More Knot made up some ground on the rest of the fleet. Only Ellisa had crossed the line, but still not clear of the committee boat. After drifting for a bit, we recognised the tide was winning and washing us away from the line. We quickly deployed our anchor. Sadly, we couldn't keep the tactic secret and the rest of the fleet followed.

At anchor, waiting for the wind
The race is already underway, anchored before we crossed the startline

Our lightweight anchor dragged a little, so we pulled it up and tried again. So frustrating, was Roy having a laugh? As one of the faster boats in the fleet, we were losing out against those with more favorable handicaps. Its happened before, and no doubt it will happen again. The committee announced a shortened course for the IRC class and pondered a shorter course for our 'Club' class. Our conversation moved towards the rule book. Was there a time limit for crossing the start line? To answer our own question, it appears that Appendix L, 11.4 makes provision for sailing instructions to define a limit, however ours do not. Meanwhile, Ellisa had managed to drift course side of the committee boat. Rats!!

Eventually, we felt the vaguest puff of a breeze. We managed to set the sails and get One More Knot moving through the water. The anchor was quickly hoisted and we ghosted over the top of the fleet. Seeing our progress, they hoisted their anchors too. The OOD shortened our race too, as expected. The new course was North Sturbridge to Starboard and then finish at Crew Insure. Not quite the usual passage race, but it was important to get in on the tide for the presentations.

Some 43 minutes after the gun, One More Knot crossed the line in second place. Shame it was the start line! We were keeping an eye on Muscadet, by the time they crossed the line we were 2 minutes ahead on the water.

We beat to North Sturbridge, initially inshore, because my brain was fried. The tide had turned and we should have been in deep water. Once this clicked we tacked back out and found oursleves bang on the lay line. We rounded North Sturbridge 40 seconds behind Ellisa, but we now had a 4 minute gap over Muscadet.

At North Sturbridge we tacked back out chasing Ellisa. She was sailing lower but faster. The breeze was filling in again, quite rapidly. Ellisa tacked back towards us, before tacking off again to stay in the deep water. She then tacked again and closely crossed our bows. They were having a good race, but we were chipping away at the gap. Eventually we called a tack, expecting to need another to finish. However, once we had tacked, we realised we were bang on the lay line again.

Ellisa seemed to be sailing very low, was this our chance? She held onto her tack going inshore, surely she must have gone too far. It looked like we now had the advantage. Ellisa tacked and started charging back towards the line, she was getting there fast. But we were close, the wind was now quite stiff and everyone was on the rail. Phil called for everyone to hike on a gust. It worked, we held on to it .... for a while. Then another gust, just a bit too much and we rounded up only 100m from the line. A quick recovery and we managed to take line honours, just. Ellisa crossed a mere 8 seconds behind us. Our sums suggested that this wouldn't be enough by a only few seconds. On corrected time we lost out to Ellisa by 11 seconds. Behind, threats were coming from Muscadet and Scallywag, both with significantly lower handicaps. Now that the wind was blowing again, there wasn't anything we could do other than head for the bar in the Royal Victoria yacht club.

Muscadet de Havelet won the inaugural Roy Pearce Memorial passage race, followed by Scallywag, under new ownership this series. Ellisa, having sailed a good race claimed 3rd, with One More Knot in 4th. Just In Time and Easy Tiger 2 concluded the results. Keith Pearce presented the tropies to the winning crew. It had been a difficult day for the organisers and I'm sure Roy was having a chuckle.

Spring Races 4 and 5

Crew: Phil, Glenn, Andrew, Jon, Drew, Norman

Todays forecast was for a solid SE F4 all morning. When we met in for breakfast, some of the crew were able to confirm that there was indeed a breeze. Only Phil went for the "winning bap", the result could be telling!

Race 4

The committee boat had parked on station near KB boat parks, half way down the Haslar wall. The first race of the day was a beat to Mary Rose, then a run to North Sturbridge, followed by a reach to RNCRAYC, before another beat to Mary Rose and finally a run back to the finish at KB Boatpark.

With an east going tide, the starboard end of the line was closer to the stronger tide and thus the favoured end. However, as a gaggle of yachts descended on the committee boat, we elected to stay away. Arriving at the line a little early, we needed to dump some speed to avoid overshooting the outer distance mark, KB Boatpark. With seconds to go, we were very close to the line and about to overrun. Another little wiggle away and back again allowed us to harden up inside the pin on the gun. Next to the committee boat, 2 boats were over and called back, Muscadet and Ellisa I recall. Just In time had started just behind these two, so as they came back Just In Time had room to tack onto port first and go for the better tide. One More Knot waited about 1 minute for her turn before tacking out. Having hung on a bit, we were just able to fetch the mark. It was a drag race with Just In Time to see who would get there first. We were to windward, but a little behind. Our speed was marginally better and eventually we overhauled Just In Time to lead around Mary Rose. We suspect that Just In Time might have need a double tack to get around, but we were too busy watch!

Up went "Big Blue 2" for our run to North Sturbridge. Not our fastest hoist, but slick enough to open a gap. Just In Time sailed a slightly higher course which improved her speed. We were in 1.2 knots of adverse tide in the deep water and aware that worse was to come when we got close to the mark. We were happy to see the majority of the fleet sailing a track down tide of ours. Muscadet however was keeping uptide, further back but probably competitive on handicap.

As we approached the mark we discussed sail options for the next leg and elected for whites. Jon set up the reaching jib sheet. However we needed to gybe to get around and the tide was now running at 2.2 knots. This was going to be tricky. We needed the spinnaker to get past, but we also want to drop and gybe.

It was awkward. Running past the bouy we could see how strong the tide was. We were sailing by the lee trying to ferry glide back across the mark. Once we felt safe, we called for the drop and gybed the main. We eased the guy to get the pole forward, but having turned the boat it didn't go. Bearing away help the pole forward and Drew could trip the tack and drop the pole. The jib was set and the spinnaker was brought down to windward. It was difficult and took a while, but at least the boat was moving in the right direction. Phew !!!

Looking behind, we saw the rest of the fleet arrive at North Sturbridge. Each in turn showed how difficult the manouevre was. Just In Time lost a lot of time. We started to feel better about our execution. Our lead on the water had opened up a considerable gap. The reaching jib sheet was working well.

At RNCRAYC we were able to tack at the mark and sail back out into deep water. On the way we passed very close to Muscadet, they seemed to be sailing very high. Subsequently, there was some VHF chatter and we think they had mistaken which bouy was RNCRAYC, possibly they had old charts. Having realised, they needed to take corrective action effectively dropping them down the results.

We had a simple beat and then run back to the line to claim a win by a huge 5 minute margin, from Just In Time. Scallywag claimed 3rd with Muscadet in 4th.

One More Knot was leading the table again!!! But only by virtue of the most recent result being a win.

Race 5

The tide was due to ease and then turn. The course for the second race of the day was starting at KB Boatpark, a beat to Gleeds before starting a long run via Naomi House (inshore and half way down the Haslar wall), RNCRAYC and then Darling Associates, before a beat to Mary Rose and a final run back across the line.

Prestart, we tried not to get too far from the line and not mixed up with the rest of the fleet. We found some space out by the port end of the line. The plan became to sail under the line on port and tack in the final minute to cross on starboard. However, as we approached, an opportunity presented itself. Most of the rest of the fleet were well off the line and some gaps were opening up. Plan A was abandoned and in the final few seconds we hardened up and went for the line on port.

First sign of trouble was Muscadet, however she tacked a couple of boat lengths away onto port. That let us off the hook for now. Muscadet was completing her tack (onto port) when Just In Time arrived, hollering "Starboard". Muscadet attempt to tack back and seemed to get stuck. Just In Time dipped below her. There were plenty of raised voices. I had planned to dip Just In Time's transom, but now that she had dipped under the stuck Muscadet she was closer and slower. The option closed out and we tacked before we got too close. Apparently, Muscadet did penalty turns to clear her misdemeanor.

After short stint on starboard while we waited for Just In Time to tack, we too tacked. We settled down to a beat to Gleeds. Speed was good and we were looking to tweek a bit more from the VMG. We rounded Gleeds about 1 minute 30 ahead of Just In Time.

A bear away set and we were off with the kite flying. We were trying to figure out the next leg, along the Haslar wall. It was obvious we needed to gybe at Naomi, but could we keep the spinnaker going? We weren't quite sure of the wind angles, it would be a tight one.

Naomi is quite close to the wall. Arriving with the kite up in a respectable F4 and going quite fast, meant that we needed to gybe cleanly. At the mark we deepened our course onto a dead run and executed the gybe without pain. Hardening up for the course to the next mark we discovered how fine the reach was. Mixing it with a few cruising boats, we gave them a bit of a scare as we broached and flogged our way down the leg. In hindsight, maybe we would have been better to cover the kite with the headsail.

Looking back we could see Just In Time struggling with her gunwhale in the water. Behind, some of the others wisely dropped their kites. There was considerable relief when rounded RNYRAYC and we able to run to the Darling Associates. We half expected to need to gybe, but in the event we didn't. At least it made the drop easier. The jib was pulled out before we got to the mark in readiness, but not tight enough for the next beat. As we rounded, the drop could have been better. Glenn was left hanging on, being lifted off the deck. The white sails weren't sheeted enough and we could sail high. Eventually, it seemed like an age, but was probably only 20 seconds and everything was sorted out and we were back on track.

On the final third of the leg, Drew was preparing the kite and let the port halyard go. Oooppps. I allowed myself to get distracted by the shenanegans. Glenn reminded me to steer properly! On the tack, I managed to catch the halyard before it whacked me. We called the final tack being slightly cautious about the tide on the mark. On rounding, the kite was hoisted and we looked back down the fleet as we legged it to the finish.

Just In Time got hung up on the mark for quite a time. The fleet then seemed to arrive more or less together from 5 minutes after we had finished. We hung around to take some pictures of the fleet finishing under spinnakers. Muscadet looked to be the only threat, we thought she finished about 6 mins 15 secs behind. Some quick sums based on 10% at 62 minutes meant it would be quite close, we thought we'd just done enough.

In the club house, the results were published .... 2nd place by 12 seconds on corrected time. Muscadet had finished 6 mins 20 seconds behind. It turns out that we give them 10.6%. Hmmmm, that extra 0.6% is worth another 20 seconds an hour and was expensive today. So we give them 380.5 second per hour, must remember that in future! Muscadet obviously recovered well after their traumatic start, to head the table again, demoting One More Knot to second by 1 point.

Phil and Joe Bailey are fundraising for the RNLI by participating in the 2011 Great North Swim
Support them and the RNLI here

Spring Races 6 and 7

Crew: Phil, Jon, Drew, Kevan, Norman

A short report this week. Looking at windfinder during the week the forecast was varying between 0-4 knots. Prospects of racing were poor.

On the day, we were the first yacht out to Gleeds where the Committee Boat Mary Siobhan was anchored on station. We anchored a few boat lengths away. As the hour passed, more of the fleet arrived and followed suit in anchoring, apart from a couple of IRC boats, are anchors optional?

As time passed, each 30 minute postponement was replaced with another. Sometimes the breeze got up to nearly 2 knots, nearly a strong as the tide. On One More Knot, we took took the opportunity to change the mainsail's underwear! The old biege lazybag was replaced with a new blue one to match last years spray hood. Now we'll look like all the other 10m white plastic boats with blue trimmings.

The VHF provided some entertainment, listening to the same problems from race fleets all around the Solent. The only fleet to start a race was one that started where we were, at Gleeds. Their OOD was a chatterbox and the decisions provided some amusement. We watched their fleet drift over their long start line, pushed by the mainly by the tide. There wasn't much sailing going on. Their race was doomed.

At 12 o'clock, OODs up and down the Solent, including ours, threw in the towel and racing in the Solent was abandoned, so back to the club house for a beer.

At the end of 4 weeks, One More Knot is lying 2nd in the series to Muscadet De Havelet by a single point, 6 points clear of Scallywag in 3rd. The final day of the series falls on a bank holiday weekend close to Easter. So 3 days holiday extends joins the 2 weekends to give an 11 day break, the 1st in living memory that's not Xmas! Hence, this could be our last week racing as we might take the opportunity to get away. The club are talking about running 3 races (in an effort to catch up) on the final day. Assuming we can't race, it'll be disaster for us. 3 races on a day when we're not there would force us to count a discard (8 races, 2 discards). Nevermind, always the next series.